Question / Help Question about avermedia live gamer hd with PBS

[apparitionql]

So I'm thinking of getting the live gamer but I'm wondering if it will work with obs as a capture card while still helping you not lose any fps in games. This is on a single pc setup btw. I'd use the built in streaming software but when i first had it (had to return it due to this reason) it puts a major impact on my latency even though I use the correct Kbps upload... (2500 Kbps when my upload is 5.mbps

 

[Xianahru]

I dont recommend buying capture cards for single PC setups, they will ofload the CPU a tiny bit. Encoding hits the CPU, nothing a capture card will change about.

 

[ArucarD]

I dont recommend buying capture cards for single PC setups, they will ofload the CPU a tiny bit. Encoding hits the CPU, nothing a capture card will change about.

From experience and from anything you can find and read, this is actually not true. The entire purpose of a capture card is to utilize the hardware encoder that it comes with, meaning less strain and stress on the CPU. The primary reason second rigs are used, is because as gamers we do not wish to have ANY hit whatsoever, no added strain so the game runs at what we are comfortable playing it in. [Especially for those whom play BF3, Crysis 3, Skyrim etc at Ultra settings.]

So while it does not completely remove CPU usage, it definitely minimizes the strain put on a rig. Been streaming games on a single rig for a while now using OBS, the difference a capture card makes to your usage is easily noticeable.

As to stay on topic, it should work with OBS, a few people have discussed using it here as well. As far as not losing a single frame, it all depends. Strong PC setups obviously are required for more intense settings etc, but if you are looking for a foolproof 100% guarantee, well there is no such thing on a single rig setup. :D

 

[dodgepong]

I dont recommend buying capture cards for single PC setups, they will ofload the CPU a tiny bit. Encoding hits the CPU, nothing a capture card will change about.

From experience and from anything you can find and read, this is actually not true. The entire purpose of a capture card is to utilize the hardware encoder that it comes with, meaning less strain and stress on the CPU. The primary reason second rigs are used, is because as gamers we do not wish to have ANY hit whatsoever, no added strain so the game runs at what we are comfortable playing it in. [Especially for those whom play BF3, Crysis 3, Skyrim etc at Ultra settings.]

So while it does not completely remove CPU usage, it definitely minimizes the strain put on a rig. Been streaming games on a single rig for a while now using OBS, the difference a capture card makes to your usage is easily noticeable.

OBS currently does not support the hardware encoder of the LGHD, and even if it did, I would recommend against using it because it looks like garbage.

 

[ArucarD]

OBS currently does not support the hardware encoder of the LGHD, and even if it did, I would recommend against using it because it looks like garbage.

Ah. Wonder if my LGP will be the same when it arrives. :X

 

[apparitionql]

I dont recommend buying capture cards for single PC setups, they will ofload the CPU a tiny bit. Encoding hits the CPU, nothing a capture card will change about.

From experience and from anything you can find and read, this is actually not true. The entire purpose of a capture card is to utilize the hardware encoder that it comes with, meaning less strain and stress on the CPU. The primary reason second rigs are used, is because as gamers we do not wish to have ANY hit whatsoever, no added strain so the game runs at what we are comfortable playing it in. [Especially for those whom play BF3, Crysis 3, Skyrim etc at Ultra settings.]

So while it does not completely remove CPU usage, it definitely minimizes the strain put on a rig. Been streaming games on a single rig for a while now using OBS, the difference a capture card makes to your usage is easily noticeable.

As to stay on topic, it should work with OBS, a few people have discussed using it here as well. As far as not losing a single frame, it all depends. Strong PC setups obviously are required for more intense settings etc, but if you are looking for a foolproof 100% guarantee, well there is no such thing on a single rig setup. :D

Well I should've prolly told you my pc setup. I got i5 3570k 8 gb ddr3 and a 200 dollar amd gfx card (sorry I forgot lol) anyway as you can tell my rig is pretty strong.... I mean I will be mostly streaming low end gAmes but uhhhhh meh idk btw if there is any misspellings sorry for that I'm typing with a smartphone

 

[ArucarD]

Not a bad rig at all, especially to stream indie games. Now as far as the LGHD is concerned with OBS, supposedly it works, your biggest issue would be to find a proper balance to quality on your stream. I was able to stream games like EvoLand, God Mode, Hotline Miami, Don't Starve etc without a capture card and at full 1080p 30 FPS. If you already have the LGHD then by all means give it a shot with OBS, but if you are looking for a purchase recommendation as your first post suggests that is a different story.

 

[apparitionql]

Not a bad rig at all, especially to stream indie games. Now as far as the LGHD is concerned with OBS, supposedly it works, your biggest issue would be to find a proper balance to quality on your stream. I was able to stream games like EvoLand, God Mode, Hotline Miami, Don't Starve etc without a capture card and at full 1080p 30 FPS. If you already have the LGHD then by all means give it a shot with OBS, but if you are looking for a purchase recommendation as your first post suggests that is a different story.

Hmm yeah, well what do you recommend as a purchase then? The game I'd be streaming is Quake Live (if you've ever heard of the game) but uhhh yeah i mean, when i stream with the game capture feature I lose like, 10 - 20 frames with pretty good results on twitch sooo I was just wondering if it would be worth the $200 or not.... whats your opinion? (The LGHD is for a single pc setup though, and my monitor is 120hz as an fyi)

 

[ArucarD]

Hmm yeah, well what do you recommend as a purchase then? The game I'd be streaming is Quake Live (if you've ever heard of the game) but uhhh yeah i mean, when i stream with the game capture feature I lose like, 10 - 20 frames with pretty good results on twitch sooo I was just wondering if it would be worth the $200 or not.... whats your opinion? (The LGHD is for a single pc setup though, and my monitor is 120hz as an fyi)

To be honest if you still have that many questions and that many thoughts, always do some research just so you don't make an unnecessary purchase or be it make the right purchase for what you wish to achieve. Quake Live of course I have heard of ;D. From everything I have read and seen the LGHD is a solid purchase, but on a personal note I am purchasing the LGP as it is on sale and offers PC free recording.

As far as Quake Live is concerned, the game is old, so the loss of 10 to 20 FPS when you have over 150 FPS should be a non issue unless you are noticing stutter etc. Due to you being on a 120 hz monitor, from 200 or 150 to 140 or 130 is not a big deal, as you are still 10 to 20 FPS above your hz. So basically, the smoothness of your game will not be affected and visually you will not be impaired. But if you are truly wishing to purchase a capture card, I would more take a look at what they offer, what they utilize and their ease of use, versus just the cost.

Especially if you are going to stream something other than Quake Live in the long run. :]

 

[XeiZ]

You will be surprised on a different way with the LGP... because it will NOT work with obs. ;)
You can however try to get into avermedias Stream engine beta which is supposed to decode the signal so obs and other programs CAN use it. But right out of the box it wont work at all. And even then it is the same because OBS will either use x264 or if you set it to - QSV. And like dodgepong said earlier, the hardware encoder looks like garbage, just put your preset to ultrafast and look at the quality, thats what you can expect with hardware encoding. QSV actually looks a little bit better than those hardware encoders.

 

[ArucarD]

You will be surprised on a different way with the LGP... because it will NOT work with obs. ;)
You can however try to get into avermedias Stream engine beta which is supposed to decode the signal so obs and other programs CAN use it. But right out of the box it wont work at all. And even then it is the same because OBS will either use x264 or if you set it to - QSV. And like dodgepong said earlier, the hardware encoder looks like garbage, just put your preset to ultrafast and look at the quality, thats what you can expect with hardware encoding. QSV actually looks a little bit better than those hardware encoders.

Well that definitely answers one of the questions I had about the LGP, so thank you for that. :]

 

[XeiZ]

http://obsproject.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4499 found it, thats the link to avermedias stream engine beta.

 

[ArucarD]

http://obsproject.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4499 found it, thats the link to avermedias stream engine beta.

Thank you for that, just submitted my application just for when I get it in the next few days.

 

[WayZHC]

Really the only advantage of using LGHD (or any capture card) with one PC setup is minimal.

Pros:
1. takes away the inputlag which comes with software capture (same kind of inputlag like Vsync were on)

2. Easier scene setup for anything and any game since it records everything you see on your monitor. And no need to hassle with Windows Aero while streaming etc. Also you can stream older games using Directx 8 or older.

3. Future possibility for two pc stream setup.

4. Some of the cards including LGHD does hardware downscaling (play in full 1080p and stream 720p or smaller)

(5. For LGHD: afaik OBS is originally made for this capture card so it works for sure)

Cons:
1. Doesn't support over 1920x1080 screens. So not gonna work for 16:10 1920x1200 or 2560x1440/1600 screens

2. Shows everything to the stream so be careful with the content on the screen you dont want to the public. (Secondary screens are handy)

3. Price/performance ratio is bad when used with one pc since encoding is still your CPUs task.

4. Their hardware encoders sucks and they can be used either for capturing or for encoding. Not for both at the same time. (OBS supports only capturing with capture cards)

5. Screen tearing if the game goes over 60fps (same effect with 60Hz screens). Vsync fixes this but adds inputlag.

6. Does not pass through 120Hz signal since HDMI can't do it anyway. (You can connect LGHD with HDMI to the gpu and use it "as a screen" (duplicate screen with Win + P. Not sure if this works while refresh rate is 120Hz since also the duplicated signal might still be 120Hz )

 

[jesyjames]

Really the only advantage of using LGHD (or any capture card) with one PC setup is minimal.

Pros:
1. takes away the inputlag which comes with software capture (same kind of inputlag like Vsync were on)

For me, that is the main benefit of using a capture card in a single pc setup. Regardless of frame rate, it always "felt" like I was streaming before I used a capture card and that is because of input lag. I mostly play FPS so input lag for me might be more pronounced than someone streaming other genres.

Anecdotally, I can say that if I stream @ 720p/30fps using a capture card on a single pc(2600k @ 4.7 ghz) I wouldn't be able to tell I was streaming at all. Stream on or off, the game feels no different. With 720p/60fps and a capture card, I sometimes feel a hint of slowdown, but it is fairly negligible. This is with using the "very fast" preset. Using game capture, however, my aim felt different. I'm completely open to the idea it's all in my head and placebo affect, but that's my experience.

I also have a 120hz monitor and GTX 670s in SLI. To use a capture card, I run the dual link DVI to the monitor and then I "clone" the image onto the HDMI connection into the capture card. I am able to run at 120hz just fine. The only issue is that cloning in SLI does result in about a 10 percent reduction in frame rate. With single gpu and cloning I notice no difference at all in performance.

Speaking of input lag, I often wonder how much input lag "cloning" adds-- if any.

 

[apparitionql]

So can anyone tell me what the live gamer HD will do for me if I use OBS with it? Will it take the stress off of my games while I stream or...? Still kinda confused by that....

 

[dodgepong]

If you are streaming and playing games on the same computer, you will not notice a performance improvement over game capture, or window capture, really. However, it does provide a fast Monitor capture, and lets you "monitor capture" on fullscreen games (whereas Window/Monitor capture do not work on fullscreen games). Also, it will let you capture DX8 and older games quickly and easily, since a lot of those don't have a built-in windowed mode.

If you are streaming a DX9 or higher game on the same computer, you would not really be well-served to get a capture card.